Foster Care Review

Too many kids are up a creek and child services workers have stolen their paddle.

Ok, I surrender already!

My e-mail runneth over and my telephone has been blowing up. I really appreciate the confidence many of you have shown in me. I’m more than a little overwhelmed. While last year my phone rang once or twice a week, I’m now up to two and three phone calls daily and at least that many e-mails – sometimes more.

I’ve read so many terrifying and sorrowful tales, if I didn’t know first-hand how bizarre things can get, I’d say I don’t believe a word of it, but I know better. Many stories have come in and I’m trying to get them up but it’s difficult. I’ve been getting e-mails that are all in CAPS or all lower-case – and to make matters worse – all one paragraph. This of course means that I have to edit the entire document before I can even consider formatting it to be posted to Kidjacked or the Jacked Up blog.

I had one lady call – I know I shouldn’t tell this but I’ll keep it generic to protect her privacy – she has called me about half-a-dozen times. The first time we spoke, I realized we were on the phone twenty minutes and I still didn’t have a clue as to what she wanted. I’m sorry but that really irritated me. I have a young child; my husband and I both work from home – and every one of us has to eat. I don’t have the kind of time I wish I did to simply give away. Making priorities really sucks but at this point it’s a necessity of life.

I spend what precious free time I have keeping several websites up-to-date, including this one. I try to put your contributions up as quickly as possible. I really appreciate those of you who said there wasn’t enough information on their state page, then followed up providing links for the site. Now that’s the kind of help I love.

Another lady called me a few months ago, she wanted me to make some phone calls for her, which I would have happily done, the trouble is we had an electrical outage (one of several that day) and I lost all the phone numbers, including hers. I felt bad but not that bad. I’ve provided more than enough information for her on Kidjacked.

Out of the blue she calls me a week or so later. She’s falling all over herself. She actually thanked me for my help and for making the phone call I made. She was just certain that I had made all the difference in her case. I had nothing to do with her success, it was her self-confidence, her presence of mind and the knowledge she possessed that made all the difference in the world. She was getting the results she wanted and had no one to thank but herself.

The child welfare system thrives on taking advantages of the poor and ill educated. I’ve discovered that most caseworkers are ignorant of the law. They are just doing their job – the one they’ve been paid to do. They aren’t really versed in the law. It is your obligation to know what the law is in your state. It is imperative that parents stand-up and protect their children. Knowledge is power and – Do not ever let anyone tell you different.

Form a little network; it takes only two or three people to join together to make a huge difference. You do not have to have a college degree (I almost wrote disease) to fight the system. With a little hard work, a little time and research you can use the law to turn the tables on greedy case workers and lazy judges. Declare war on your court system.

Did you know that the law is required to be plainly written?

Did you know that sometimes it can be better to represent yourself?

Did you know that you cannot be held to the same standards as an attorney when representing yourself in court?

Drawing the line

I have decided that I will spend 15 minutes per phone call, after that my rate is $25.00 an hour, the normal rate that I charge for web development. I will gladly publish relevant information submitted to Kidjacked in a timely manner, so long as it is well written. I recommend having another person read over your post before you send it. Check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, content and structure. Press Releases need to be labeled as such and be ready to go. All stories submitted for publication must include a request to be posted. Photographs are requested to accompany articles submitted for publication.

I am working on providing a link for every member of the U.S. House of Representatives members on the state pages. The U.S. House is charged with overseeing state welfare agencies. If you find the laws regulating your state are being violated it is your duty to request an investigation from your U.S. House Representative. You must ask to speak with the “aide in charge” of investigations of the Department of Health and Human Services. They will require you to fax copies of your proof and any documentation available to you.

Be sure to file a formal complaint with the offices of your local Department of Health and Human Services. The complaint must be made in writing, in accordance with the regulations (which the state is required by law to provide you) in force. A telephone call simply won’t do.

Did you know that the federal government has an online list of scheduled audits for each state and county agency? The process is spread out over several years but each county welfare agency gets a go round.

Anyone interested in parental rights needs to participate in the review process. The links below explain the federal review process and when they are scheduled. If a review is scheduled for your area, contact the review committee be prepared to tell your story and present the facts in your case.